The present invention relates generally to hands-free playing of a harmonica, also termed a “mouth organ.” The harmonica is traditionally a hand-held instrument. However, musicians who wish to play a harmonica while also playing another instrument are in need of a support frame for the harmonica which frees their hands. Using a support frame, the musician can also play a guitar, a horn, or hold a microphone, for example.
Shoulder-supported harmonica holders have been in use for over 100 years, and were initially fixed angle frames. As popularized by Bob Dylan in the 1960s, a typical modern harmonica holder incorporates the use of two pivoting sections, a harmonica supporting section and a shoulder engaging section, with provision for folding or pivoting the two sections to allow adjustment and also to fold the holder for transport.
Frames of the prior art having a variable pivot angle were realized using a fastener, such as a wing nut, to loosen, adjust and retighten the pivot angle between the two sections. A device of this type is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,177 (FIG. 1, no. 37). While this feature seems straightforward, the threaded fasteners are stripped by repeated use and the axle joint can slip unexpectedly when the musician leans into the harmonica. There is no remedy a musician can take once this has occurred, except to stop mid-performance and re-align and retighten the pivot angle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,001 (see FIG. 5, no. 68) offers a hinge joint having mating serrated tooth hubs which prevent slipping, but the threaded knob that forces the teeth into engagement requires both hands, first to select a position and tighten the hinge, test out the position relative to the mouth, and then readjust as necessary to find a preferred playing position, not a fully satisfactory solution.
Illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,001 (see FIG. 2, nos. 18-26) is a spring-loaded harmonica mounting contraption that is both cumbersome to manage (requiring two hands to facilitate removal and installation of a harmonica to the holder) and to some degree or another detrimental to the aesthetic of the harmonica, its player's line of sight, the audiences' view of the player, and can slip or damage the harmonica. In one instance (the Sonnenschein SLK Harmonica Rack V2) a spring-tensioned, rubberized bar is used to clamp the harmonica, but the device is so large as to practically conceal the performer.
A similar structure is illustrated in U.S. Design Pat. No. D633,554, although the clamping mechanism is somewhat indistinct and it would appear that the hinge release requires a tool for making adjustments and hence cannot be viewed as a quick release mechanism. A quick release feature has not been achieved that allows the musician to move a harmonica out of the way when desired, and to return the harmonica to a preferred playing position when needed. To be more useful, any quick release feature would benefit from an adjustably positionable locking mechanism with memory feature so that a preferred playing position preset by the musician ahead of time is not lost when the hinge is pivoted.
Also unrealized is a provision for mounting a second or backup harmonica on the frame; a second diatonic harmonica for example, which would be used extensively by musicians who's music changes key from one song to the next. The solution offered by U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,352 (and also U.S. Pat. No. 1,954,169), where clips are used to hold multiple harmonicas on a revolving wheel, would seem overly cumbersome and large. Thus there are unresolved needs in the art; and a harmonica holder which overcomes the above and other disadvantages has long been sought.